Frame-rate scalable video coding

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for frame rate scalability are described. Support is provided for input and output video sequences with variable frame rate and variable shutter angle across scenes, or for input video sequences with fixed input frame rate and input shutter angle, but allowing a decoder to generate a video output at a different output frame rate and shutter angle than the corresponding input values. Techniques allowing a decoder to decode more computationally-efficiently a specific backward compatible target frame rate and shutter angle among those allowed are also presented.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 18/096,425, filed on Jan. 12, 2023, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/666,887, filed on Feb. 8, 2022, nowU.S. Pat. No. 11,582,472 (issued on Feb. 14, 2023), which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/212,701, filed onMar. 25, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,323,728 (issued on May 3, 2022),which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/901,911,filed on Jun. 15, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,999,585 (issued May 4,2021), which is a continuation-in-part (CIP) patent application of PCTApplication No. PCT/US2020/022018, filed on Mar. 11, 2020, which claimsthe benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.62/816,521, filed on Mar. 11, 2019, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/850,985, filed on May 21, 2019, U.S. Provisional Application No.62/883,195, filed on Aug. 6, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/904,744, filed Sep. 24, 2019, each of which is incorporated byreference in its entirety.

TECHNOLOGY

The present document relates generally to images. More particularly, anembodiment of the present invention relates to frame-rate scalable videocoding.

BACKGROUND

As used herein, the term ‘dynamic range’ (DR) may relate to a capabilityof the human visual system (HVS) to perceive a range of intensity (e.g.,luminance, luma) in an image, e.g., from darkest grays (blacks) tobrightest whites (highlights). In this sense, DR relates to a‘scene-referred’ intensity. DR may also relate to the ability of adisplay device to adequately or approximately render an intensity rangeof a particular breadth. In this sense, DR relates to a‘display-referred’ intensity. Unless a particular sense is explicitlyspecified to have particular significance at any point in thedescription herein, it should be inferred that the term may be used ineither sense, e.g. interchangeably.

As used herein, the term high dynamic range (HDR) relates to a DRbreadth that spans the 14-15 orders of magnitude of the human visualsystem (HVS). In practice, the DR over which a human may simultaneouslyperceive an extensive breadth in intensity range may be somewhattruncated, in relation to HDR.

In practice, images comprise one or more color components (e.g., luma Yand chroma Cb and Cr) wherein each color component is represented by aprecision of n-bits per pixel (e.g., n=8). Using linear luminancecoding, images where n≤8 (e.g., color 24-bit JPEG images) are consideredimages of standard dynamic range (SDR), while images where n>8 may beconsidered images of enhanced dynamic range. HDR images may also bestored and distributed using high-precision (e.g., 16-bit)floating-point formats, such as the OpenEXR file format developed byIndustrial Light and Magic.

Currently, distribution of video high dynamic range content, such asDolby Vision from Dolby laboratories or HDR10 in Blue-Ray, is limited to4K resolution (e.g., 4096×2160 or 3840×2160, and the like) and 60 framesper second (fps) by the capabilities of many playback devices. In futureversions, it is anticipated that content of up to 8K resolution (e.g.,7680×4320) and 120 fps may be available for distribution and playback.It is desirable that future content types will be compatible withexisting playback devices in order to simplify an HDR playback contentecosystem, such as Dolby Vision. Ideally, content producers should beable to adopt and distribute future HDR technologies without having toalso derive and distribute special versions of the content that arecompatible with existing HDR devices (such as HDR10 or Dolby Vision). Asappreciated by the inventors here, improved techniques for the scalabledistribution of video content, especially HDR content, are desired.

The approaches described in this section are approaches that could bepursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previouslyconceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it shouldnot be assumed that any of the approaches described in this sectionqualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in thissection. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or moreapproaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art onthe basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by way of example,and not in way by limitation, in the figures of the accompanyingdrawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elementsand in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an example process for a video delivery pipeline;

FIG. 2 depicts an example process of combining consecutive originalframes to render a target frame rate at a target shutter angle accordingto an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an example representation of an input sequence withvariable input frame rate and variable shuttle angle in a container witha fixed frame rate according to an embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts an example representation for temporal scalability atvarious frame rates and shutter angles with backwards compatibilityaccording to an embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Example embodiments that relate to frame-rate scalability for videocoding are described herein. In the following description, for thepurposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments ofpresent invention. It will be apparent, however, that the variousembodiments of the present invention may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devicesare not described in exhaustive detail, in order to avoid unnecessarilyoccluding, obscuring, or obfuscating embodiments of the presentinvention.

Summary

Example embodiments described herein relate to frame rate scalability invideo coding. In an embodiment, a system with a processor receives acoded bitstream comprising coded video frames, wherein one or more codedframes are encoded in a first frame rate and a first shutter angle. Theprocessor receives a first flag indicating the presence of a group ofcoded frames to be decoded at a second frame rate and a second shutterangle, it accesses from the coded bitstream values of the second framerate and the second shutter angle for the group of coded frames, andgenerates decoded frames at the second frame rate and the second shutterangle based on the group of coded frames, the first frame rate, thefirst shutter angle, the second frame rate and the second shutter angle.

In a second embodiment, a decoder with a processor:

-   -   receives a coded bitstream comprising groups of coded video        frames, wherein all coded video frames in the coded bitstream        are encoded in a first frame rate;    -   receives a number of combined frames N;    -   receives a value for a baseline frame rate;    -   accesses a group of N consecutive coded frames, wherein the i-th        coded frame in the group of N consecutive coded frames, wherein        i=1, 2, . . . N, represents an average of up to i input video        frames encoded in an encoder at the baseline frame rate and an        i-th shutter angle based on a first shutter angle and the first        frame rate;    -   accesses from the coded bitstream or from user input values for        a second frame rate and a second shutter angle, for decoding the        group of N consecutive coded frames in the second frame rate and        the second shutter angle; and    -   generates decoded frames at the second frame rate and the second        shutter angle based on the group of N consecutive coded frames,        the first frame rate, the first shutter angle, the second frame        rate, and the second shutter angle.

In a third embodiment, an encoded video stream structure comprises:

-   -   an encoded picture section including an encoding of a sequence        of video pictures; and    -   a signaling section including an encoding of:        -   a shutter interval time-scale parameter indicating the            number of time units passing in one second;        -   a shutter interval clock-ticks parameter indicating a number            of time units of a clock operating at the frequency of the            shutter interval time-scale parameter,        -   wherein the shutter interval clock-ticks parameter divided            by the shutter interval time-scale parameter indicates an            exposure duration value;        -   a shutter-interval-duration flag indicating whether exposure            duration information is fixed for all temporal sub-layers in            the encoded picture section; and        -   if the shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the            exposure duration information is fixed, then a decoded            version of the sequence of video pictures for all the            temporal sub-layers in the encoded picture section is            decoded by computing the exposure duration value based on            the shutter interval time-scale parameter and the shutter            interval clock-ticks parameter, else        -   the signaling section includes one or more arrays of            sub-layer parameters, wherein values in the one or more            arrays of sub-layer parameters combined with the shutter            interval time-scale parameter are used to compute for each            sub-layer a corresponding sub-layer exposure duration value            for displaying a decoded version of the temporal sub-layer            of the sequence of video pictures.

Example Video Delivery Processing Pipeline

FIG. 1 depicts an example process of a conventional video deliverypipeline (100) showing various stages from video capture to videocontent display. A sequence of video frames (102) is captured orgenerated using image generation block (105). Video frames (102) may bedigitally captured (e.g. by a digital camera) or generated by a computer(e.g. using computer animation) to provide video data (107).Alternatively, video frames (102) may be captured on film by a filmcamera. The film is converted to a digital format to provide video data(107). In a production phase (110), video data (107) is edited toprovide a video production stream (112).

The video data of production stream (112) is then provided to aprocessor at block (115) for post-production editing. Block (115)post-production editing may include adjusting or modifying colors orbrightness in particular areas of an image to enhance the image qualityor achieve a particular appearance for the image in accordance with thevideo creator's creative intent. This is sometimes called “color timing”or “color grading.” Other editing (e.g. scene selection and sequencing,image cropping, addition of computer-generated visual special effects,judder or blur control, frame rate control, etc.) may be performed atblock (115) to yield a final version (117) of the production fordistribution. During post-production editing (115), video images areviewed on a reference display (125). Following post-production (115),video data of final production (117) may be delivered to encoding block(120) for delivering downstream to decoding and playback devices such astelevision sets, set-top boxes, movie theaters, and the like. In someembodiments, coding block (120) may include audio and video encoders,such as those defined by ATSC, DVB, DVD, Blu-Ray, and other deliveryformats, to generate coded bit stream (122). In a receiver, the codedbit stream (122) is decoded by decoding unit (130) to generate a decodedsignal (132) representing an identical or close approximation of signal(117). The receiver may be attached to a target display (140) which mayhave completely different characteristics than the reference display(125). In that case, a display management block (135) may be used to mapthe dynamic range of decoded signal (132) to the characteristics of thetarget display (140) by generating display-mapped signal (137).

Scalable Coding

Scalable coding is already part of a number of video coding standards,such as, MPEG-2, AVC, and HEVC. In embodiments of this invention,scalable coding is extended to improve performance and flexibility,especially as it relates to very high resolution HDR content.

As used herein, the term “shutter angle” denotes an adjustable shuttersetting which controls the proportion of time that film is exposed tolight during each frame interval. For example, in an embodiment

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{{shutter}{angle}}{360} = {\frac{{exposure}{time}}{{frame}{interval}}.}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

The term comes from legacy, mechanical, rotary shutters; however, moderndigital cameras can also adjust their shutter electronically.Cinematographers may use the shutter angle to control the amount ofmotion blur or judder that is recorded in each frame. Note that insteadof using “exposure time” one may also use alternative terms, like“exposure duration,” “shutter interval,” and “shutter speed.” Similarly,instead of using “frame interval” one may use the term “frame duration.”Alternatively, one may replace “frame interval” with “1/frame rate.” Thevalue of exposure time is typically less than or equal to the durationof a frame. For example, a shutter angle of 180 degrees indicates thatthe exposure time is half of the frame duration. In some situations,exposure time may be greater than the frame duration of coded video, forexample, when the encoded frame rate is 120 fps and the frame rate ofthe associated video content prior to encoding and display is 60 fps.

Consider, without limitation, an embodiment where original content isshot (or generated) at an original frame rate (e.g., 120 fps) with ashutter angle of 360 degrees. Then, in a receiving device, one canrender video output at a variety of frame rates equal to or lower thanthe original frame rate by judicial combination of the original frames,e.g., by averaging or other known in the art operations.

The combining process may be performed with non-linear encoded signals,(e.g., using gamma, PQ or HLG), but best image quality is obtained bycombining frames in the linear light domain by first, converting thenon-linear encoded signals into linear-light representations, next,combining the converted frames, and finally re-encoding the output withthe non-linear transfer function. This process provides a more accuratesimulation of a physical camera exposure than combining in thenon-linear domain.

In general terms, the process of combining frames can be express interms of the original frame rate, the target frame rate, the targetshutter angle, and the number of frames to be combined as:

n_frames=(target_shutter_angle/360)*(original_frame_rate/target_frame_rate),  (2)

which is equivalent to

target_shutter_angle=360*n_frames*(target_frame_rate/original_frame_rate),  (3)

where n_frames is the number of combined frames, original_frame_rate isthe frame rate of the original content, target_frame_rate is the framerate to be rendered (where, target_frame_rate≤original_frame_rate), andtarget_shutter_angle indicates the amount of desired motion blur. Inthis example, the maximum value of target_shutter_angle is 360 degreesand corresponds to the maximal motion blur. The minimum value oftarget_shutter_angle can be expressed as360*(target_frame_rate/original_frame_rate) and corresponds to minimalmotion blur. The maximum value of n_frames can be expressed as(original_frame_rate/target_frame_rate). The values of target_frame_rateand target_shutter_angle should be selected such that the value ofn_frames is a non-zero integer.

In the special case that the original frame rate is 120 fps, equation(2) can be rewritten as

n_frames=target_shutter_angle/(3*target_frame_rate),  (4)

which is equivalent to

target_shutter_angle=3*n_frames*target_frame_rate.  (5)

The relationships between the values of target_frame_rate, n_frames, andtarget_shutter_angle are shown in Table 1 for the case oforiginal_frame_rate=120 fps. In Table 1, “NA” indicates that thecorresponding combination of a target frame rate and the number ofcombined frames is not allowed.

TABLE 1 Relationship among target frame rate, number of frames combined,and target shutter angle, for an original frame rate of 120 fps. TargetNumber of Frames Combined Frame Rate 5 4 3 2 1 (fps) Target ShutterAngle (degrees) 24 360 288 216 144 72 30 NA 360 270 180 90 40 NA NA 360240 120 60 NA NA NA 360 180

FIG. 2 depicts an example process of combining consecutive originalframes to render a target frame rate at a target shutter angle accordingto an embodiment. Given an input sequence (205) at 120 fps and a shutterangle of 360 degrees, the process generates an output video sequence(210) at 24 fps and a shutter angle of 216 degrees by combining three ofthe input frames in a set of five consecutive frames (e.g., the firstthree consecutive frames), and dropping the other two. Note that in someembodiments, output frame-01 of (210) may be generated by combiningalternative input frames (205), such as frames 1, 3, and 5, or frames2,4, and 5, and the like; however, it is expected that combiningconsecutive frames will yield video output of better quality.

It is desirable to support original content with variable frame rate,for example, to manage artistic and stylistic effect. It is alsodesirable that the variable input frame rate of the original content ispackaged in a “container” that has a fixed frame rate to simplifycontent production, exchange, and distribution. As an example, threeembodiments on how to represent the variable frame rate video data in afixed frame rate container are presented. For purposes of clarity andwithout limitation, the following descriptions use fixed 120 fpscontainer, but the approaches can easily be extended to an alternativeframe rate container.

First Embodiment (Variable Frame Rate)

The first embodiment is an explicit description of original contenthaving variable (non-constant) frame rate packaged in a container havingconstant frame rate. For example, original content that has differentframes rate, say, at 24, 30, 40, 60, or 120 fps, for different scenes,may be packaged in a container having a constant frame rate of 120 fps.For this example, each input frame can be duplicated either 5×, 4×, 3×,2×, or 1× times to package it into a common 120 fps container.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of an input video sequence A with variableframe rate and variable shutter angle which is represented in a codedbitstream B with a fixed frame rate. Then, in a decoder, the decoderreconstructs output video sequence C at the desired frame rate andshutter angle, which may change from scene to scene. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 3 , to construct sequence B, some of the input framesare duplicated, some are coded as is (with no duplication), and some arecopied four times. Then, to construct sequence C, any one frame fromeach set of duplicate frames is selected to generate output frames,matching the original frame rate and shutter angle.

In this embodiment, metadata is inserted in the bitstream to indicatethe original (base) frame rate and shutter angle. The metadata may besignaled using high level syntax such as a Sequence Parameter Set (SPS),a Picture Parameter Set (PPS), a Slice or Tile Group header, and thelike. The presence of metadata enables encoders and decoders to performbeneficial functions, such as:

-   -   a) An encoder can ignore duplicated frames, thereby increasing        encoding speed and simplifying processing. For example, all        coding tree units (CTUs) in duplicated frames can be encoded        using SKIP mode and reference index 0 in LIST 0 of the reference        frames, which refers to a decoded frame from which duplicated        frames are copied.    -   b) A decoder can bypass decoding of duplicate frames thereby        simplifying processing. For example, metadata in the bitstream        can indicate that a frame is a duplicate of a previously decoded        frame that the decoder can reproduce by copying and without        decoding the new frame.    -   c) A playback device can optimize downstream processing by        indicating the base frame rate, for example by adjusting frame        rate conversion or noise reduction algorithms.

This embodiment enables an end user to view rendered content at theframe rates intended by the content creators. This embodiment does notprovide for backwards compatibility with devices that do not support theframe rate of the container, e.g., 120 fps.

Tables 2 and 3 depict example syntax of raw byte sequence payload (RBSB)for a sequence parameter set and Tile Group header, where the proposednew syntax elements are depicted in an italic font. The remaining syntaxfollows the syntax in the proposed specification of the Versatile VideoCodec (VVC) (Ref. [2]).

As an example, in SPS (see Table 2), one may add a flag to enablevariable frame rate.

sps_vfr_enabled_flag equal to 1 specifies that the coded video sequence(CVS) may contain variable frame rate content. sps_vfr_enabled_flagequal to 0 specifies that the CVS contains fixed frame rate content.In the tile_group header( ) (see Table 3),tile_group_vrf_info_present_flag equal to 1 specifies the syntaxelements tile_group_true_fr and tile_group_shutterangle are present inthe syntax. tile_group_vrf_info_present_flag equal to 0 specifies thesyntax elements tile_group_true_fr and tile_group_shutterangle are notpresent in the syntax. When tile_group_vrf_info_present_flag is notpresent, it is inferred to be 0.tile_group_true_fr indicates the true frame rate of the video datacarried in this bitstream. tile_group_shutterangle indicates the shutterangle corresponding to the true frame rate of the video data carried inthis bitstream.tile_group_skip_flag equal to 1 specifies that the current tile group iscopied from another tile group. tile_group_skip_flag equal to 0specifies that the current tile group is not copied from another tilegroup.tile_group_copy_pic_order_cnt_lsb specifies the picture order countmodulo MaxPicOrderCntLsb for the previously decoded picture which thecurrent picture copies from when tile_group_skip_flag is set to 1.

TABLE 2 Example parameter set RBSP syntax for content with variableframe-rate Descriptor seq_parameter_set_rbsp( ) { sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 u(3)  sps_reserved_zero_5bits u(5) profile_tier_level( sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 ) sps_seq_parameter_set_id ue(v) ...  sps_vfr_enabled_flag u (1) ... sps_extension_flag u(1)  if( sps_extension_flag )   while(more_rbsp_data( ) )    sps_extension_data_flag u(1)  rbsp_trailing_bits() }

TABLE 3 Example of Tile Group header syntax with support for contentwith variable frame rate Descriptor tile_group_header( ) { tile_group_pic_parameter_set_id ue(v)  if( NumTilesInPic > 1 ) {  tile_group_address u(v)   num_tiles_in_tile_group_minus1 ue(v)  } tile_group_type ue(v)  tile_group_pic_order_cnt_lsb u(v)  if(sps_vfr_enabled_flag ) {   tile_group_vfr_info_present_flag u(1)   if(tile_group_vfr_info_present_flag) {    tile_group_true_fr u(9)   tile_group_shutterangle u(9)   }   tile_group_skip_flag u(1)  }  if(tile_group_skip_flag )   tile_group_copy_pic_order_cnt_lsb u(v)  else{  ALL OTHER TILE_GROUP_SYNTAX  }  if( num_tiles_in_tile_group_minus1 > 0) {   offset_len_minus1 ue(v)   for( i = 0; i <num_tiles_in_tile_group_minus1; i++ )    entry_point_offset_minus1[ i ]u(v)  }  byte_alignment( ) }

Second Embodiment—Fixed Frame Rate Container

The second embodiment enables the use case in which original contenthaving a fixed frame rate and shutter angle may be rendered by a decoderat an alternative frame rate and variable simulated shutter angle, suchas illustrated in FIG. 2 . For example, in the case that originalcontent has a frame rate of 120 fps and a shutter angle of 360 degrees(meaning the shutter is open 1/120 second), a decoder can render outmultiple frame rates that are less than or equal to 120 fps. Forexample, as described in Table 1, to decode 24 fps with a 216-degreessimulated shutter angle, the decoder may combine three decoded framesand display at 24 fps. Table 4 expands upon Table 1 and illustrates howto combine different numbers of encoded frames to render at the outputtarget frame rates and the desired target shutter angles. Combining theframes may be performed by simple pixel averaging, by weighted pixelaveraging, where pixels from a certain frame may be weighted more thanpixels of other frames and the sum of all weights sums to one, or byother filter interpolation schemes known in the art. In Table 4, thefunction Ce(a,b) denotes the combination of encoded frames a to b, wherethe combining can be performed by averaging, weighted averaging,filtering, and the like.

TABLE 4 Example of combining input frames at 120 fps to generate outputframes at target fps and shutter angle values Input s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7s8 s9 s10 Enc. e1 e2 e3 e4 e5 e6 e7 e8 e9 e10 Dec. 120 fps @360 e1 e2 e3e4 e5 e6 e7 e8 e9 e10 Dec. 60 fps @360 Ce(1, 2) Ce(3, 4) Ce(5, 6) Ce(7,8) Ce(9, 10) @180 e1 e3 e5 e7 e9 Dec. 40 fps @360 Ce(1, 3) Ce(4, 6)Ce(7, 9) Ce(10, 12) @240 Ce(1, 2) Ce(4, 5) Ce(7, 8) Ce(10, 11) @120 e1e4 e7 e10 Dec. 30 fps @360 Ce(1, 4) Ce(5, 8) Ce(9, 12) @270  C(1, 3)Ce(5, 7) Ce(9, 11) @180 Ce(1, 2) Ce(5, 6) Ce(9, 10) @90 e1 e5 e9 Dec. 24fps @360 Ce(1, 5)  Ce(6, 10) @288 Ce(1, 4) Ce(6, 9) @216 Ce(1, 3) Ce(6,8) @144 Ce(1, 2) Ce(6, 7) @72 e1 e6

When the value of the target shutter angle is less than 360 degrees, thedecoder can combine different sets of decoded frames. For example, fromTable 1, given an original stream of 120 fps @ 360-degrees, to generatea stream at 40 fps and a 240-degrees shutter angle, a decoder needs tocombine two frames out of three possible frames. Thus, it may combineeither the first and the second frames or the second and the thirdframes. The choice of which frames to combine may be described in termsof a “decoding phase” expressed as:

decode_phase=decode_phase_idx*(360/n_frames),  (6)

where decode_phase_idx indicates the offset index within a set ofsequential frames having index values in [0, n_frames_max−1], wheren_frames is given by equation (2), and

n_frames_max=orig_frame_rate/target_frame_rate.  (7)

In general, decode_phase_idx ranges from [0, n_frames_max-n_frames]. Forexample, for an original sequence at 120 fps and a 360 degrees shutterangle, for the target frame rate of 40 fps at a 240 degrees shutterangle, n_frames_max=120/40=3. From equation (2), n_frames=2, thusdecode_phase_idx ranges from [0, 1]. Thus, decode_phase_idx=0 indicatesselecting frames with index 0 and 1, and decode_phase_idx=1 indicatesselecting frames with index 1 and 2.

In this embodiment, the rendered variable frame rate intended by thecontent creator may be signaled as metadata, such as a supplementalenhancement information (SEI) message or as video usability information(VUI). Optionally, the rendered frame rate may be controlled by thereceiver or a user. An example of frame rate conversion SEI messagingthat specifies the preferred frame rate and shutter angle of the contentcreator is shown in Table 5. The SEI message can also indicate ifcombining frames is performed in the coded signal domain (e.g., gamma,PQ, etc.) or the linear light domain. Note that postprocessing requiresa frame buffer in addition to the decoder picture buffer (DPB). The SEImessage may indicate how many extra frame buffers are needed, or somealternative method for combining frames. For example, to reducecomplexity, frames may be recombined at reduced spatial resolution.

As depicted in Table 4, at certain combinations of frame rates andshutter angles (e.g., at 30 fps and 360 degrees or at 24 fps and 288 or360 degrees) a decoder may need to combine more than three decodedframes, which increases the number of buffer space required by thedecoder. To reduce the burden of extra buffer space in the decoder, insome embodiments, certain combinations of frame rates and shutter anglesmay be off limits to the set of allowed decoding parameters (e.g., bysetting appropriate coding Profiles and Levels).

Considering again, as an example, the case of playback at 24 fps, adecoder may decide to display the same frame five times to be displayedat 120 fps output frame rate. This is exactly the same as showing theframe a single time at 24 fps output frame rate. The advantage ofkeeping a constant output frame rate is that a display can run at aconstant clock speed, which makes all the hardware much simpler. If thedisplay can dynamically vary the clock speed then it may make more senseto only show the frame once (for 1/24^(th) of a second), instead ofrepeating the same frame five times (each 1/120^(th) of a second). Theformer approach may result in slightly higher picture quality, betteroptical efficiency, or better power efficiency. Similar considerationsare also applicable to other frame rates.

Table 5 depicts an example of a frame rate conversion SEI messagingsyntax according to an embodiment.

TABLE 5 Example of SEI message syntax allowing frame-rate conversionDescriptor framerate_conversion( payloadSize ) { framerate_conversion_cancel_flag u(1)  if(!frame_conversion_cancel_flag ) {   base_frame_rate u(9)  base_shutter_angle u(9)   decode_phase_idx_present_flag u(1)   if (decode_phase_idx_present_flag ) {    decode_phase_idx u(3)   }  conversion_domain_idc u(1)   num_frame_buffer u(3)  framerate_conversion_persistence_flag u(1)  } }framerate_conversion_cancel_flag equal to 1 indicates that the SEImessage cancels the persistence of any previous frame rate conversionSEI message in output order.framerate_conversion_cancel_flag equal to 0 indicates that framerateconversion information follows.base_frame_rate specifies the desired frame rate.base_shutter_angle specifies the desired shutter angle.decode_phase_idx_present_flag equal to 1 specifies that decoding phaseinformation is present.decode_phase_idx_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that decoding phaseinformation is not present.decode_phase_idx indicates the offset index within a set of sequentialframes having index values 0 . . . (n_frames_max−1) wheren_frames_max=120/base_frame_rate. The value of decode_phase_idx shall bein the range of 0 . . . (n_frames_max-n_frames), wheren_frames=base_shutter_angle/(3*base_frame_rate). When decode_phase_idxis not present, it is inferred to be 0.conversion_domain_idc equal to 0 specifies that frame combination isperformed in linear domain. conversion_domain_idc equal to 1 specifiesthat frame combination is performed in non-linear domain.num_frame_buffers specifies the additional number of frame buffers (notcounting DPB). framerate_conversion_persistence_flag specifies thepersistence of the frame rate conversion SEI message for the currentlayer. framerate_conversion_persistence_flag equal to 0 specifies thatthe framerate conversion SEI message applies to the current decodedpicture only. Let picA be the current picture.framerate_conversion_persistence_flag equal to 1 specifies that theframe rate conversion SEI message persists for the current layer inoutput order until one or more of the following conditions are true:

-   -   A new coded layer-wise video sequence (CLVS) of the current        layer begins.    -   The bitstream ends.    -   A picture picB in the current layer in an access unit containing        a framerate conversion SEI message that is applicable to the        current layer is output for which PicOrderCnt(picB) is greater        than PicOrderCnt(picA), where PicOrderCnt(picB) and        PicOrderCnt(picA) are the PicOrderCntVal values of picB and        picA, respectively, immediately after the invocation of the        decoding process for picture order count for picB.

Third Embodiment—Input Encoded at Multiple Shutter Angles

A third embodiment is a coding scheme that allows the extraction ofsub-frame rates from the bitstream, thus supporting backwardcompatibility. In HEVC, this is achieved by temporal scalability.Temporal-layer scalability is enabled by assigning different values to atemporal_id syntax element for the decoded frames. The bitstream canthereby be extracted simply on the basis of temporal_id values. However,the HEVC-style approach to temporal scalability does not enablerendering output frame rates with different shutter angles. For example,a 60 fps base frame rate extracted from an 120 fps original will alwayshave a shutter angle of 180 degrees.

In ATSC 3.0, an alternative method is described in which frames at 60fps having a 360 degrees shutter angles are emulated as a weightedaverage of two 120 fps frames. The emulated 60 fps frames are assignedtemporal_id value of 0 and are combined with alternating original 120fps frames assigned temporal_id value 1. When 60 fps is needed, thedecoder only needs to decode frames with temporal_id 0. When 120 fps isneeded, the decoder may subtract each temporal_id=1 frame (i.e., a 120fps frame) from a scaled version of each corresponding temporal_id=0frame (i.e., emulated 60 fps frame) to recover the correspondingoriginal 120 fps frame that was not transmitted explicitly, therebyreconstituting all the original 120 fps frames.

In embodiments of this invention, a new algorithm that supports multipletarget frame rates and target shutter angles in a manner that isbackward compatible (BC) is described. The proposal is to preprocess theoriginal 120 fps content at a base frame rate at several shutter angles.Then, at the decoder, other frame rates at various other shutter anglescan be simply derived. The ATSC 3.0 approach can be thought of as aspecial case of the proposed scheme, where frames with temporal_id=0carry frames at 60 fps@360 shutter angle and frames with temporal_id=1carry frames at 60 fps@ 180 shutter angle.

As a first example, as depicted in FIG. 4 , consider an input sequenceat 120 fps and a 360 shutter angle that is used to encode a sequencewith a base layer frame rate of 40 fps and shutter angles at 120, 240,and 360 degrees. In this scheme the encoder computes new frames bycombining up to three of the original input frames. For example, encodedframe 2 (En-2) representing the input at 40 fps and 240 degrees isgenerated by combining input frames 1 and 2, and encoded frame 3 (En-3)representing the input at 40 fps and 360 degrees is generated bycombining frame En-2 to input frame 3. In the decoder, to reconstructthe input sequence, decoded frame 2 (Dec-2) is generated by subtractingframe En-1 from frame En-2, and decoded frame 3 (Dec-3) is generated bysubtracting frame En-2 from frame En-3. The three decoded framesrepresent an output at base frame rate of 120 fps and shutter angle 360degrees. Additional frame rates and shutter angles can be extrapolatedusing the decoded frames as depicted in Table 6. In Table 6, thefunction Cs(a,b) denotes the combination of input frames a to b, wherethe combining can be performed by averaging, weighted averaging,filtering, and the like.

TABLE 6 Example of frame combination with a baseline of 40 fps InputFrames 120 fps @360 s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 Encoded e1 = e2 = e3 = e4= e5 = e6 = e7 = e8 = e9 = Frames s1 Cs(1, 2) Cs(1, 3) s4 Cs(4, 5) Cs(4,6) s7 Cs(7, 8) Cs(7, 9) 120 fps Decode 120 fps @360 e1 = e2 − e1 = e3 −e2 = e4 = e5 − e4 = e6 − e4 = e7 = e8 − e7 = e9 − e8 = s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6s7 s8 s9 Decode 60 fps @360 e2 e3 − e2 + e4 = e6 − e4 = e8 = e9 − Cs(3,4) Cs(5, 6) Cs(7, 8) e8 + e10 @180 e1 e3 − e2 = e5 − e4 = e7 e9 − e8 s3s5 Decode 40 fps @360 e3 = e6 e9 Cs(1, 3) @240 e2 = e5 e8 Cs(1, 2) @120e1 = e4 e7 s1 Decode 30 fps @360 e3 + e4 = e6 − e4 + e8 = e9 − Cs(1, 4)Cs(5, 8) e8 + e12 @270 e3 = e6 − e5 + e7 = e9 − Cs(1, 3) Cs(5, 7) e8 +e11 @180 e2 = e6 − e4 = e9 − Cs(1, 2) Cs(5, 6) e8 + e10 @90 e1 e5 − e4 =e9 − e8 s5 Decode 24 fps @360 e3 + e5 = Cs(1, 5) e6 − e5 + e9 + e10 =Cs(6, 10) @288 e3 + e4 = Cs(1, 4) e6 − e5 + e9 = Cs(6, 9) @216 e3 =Cs(1, 3) e6 − e5 + e8 = Cs(6, 8) @144 e2 = Cs(1, 2) e6 − e5 + e7 = Cs(6,7) @72 e1 = s1 e6 − e5 = s6

An advantage of this approach is that, as depicted in Table 6, all the40 fps versions can be decoded without any further processing. Anotheradvantage is that other frame rates can be derived at various shutterangles. For example, consider a decoder decoding at 30 fps and a shutterangle of 360. From Table 4, the output corresponds to the sequence offrames generated by Ce(1,4)=Cs(1,4), Cs(5,8), Cs(9,12), and the like,which matches the decoding sequence depicted in Table 6 as well;however, in Table 6, Cs(5,8)=e6−e4+e8. In an embodiment, look-up tables(LUTs) can be used to define how the decoded frames need to be combinedto generate an output sequence at the specified output frame rate andemulated shutter angle.

In another example, it is proposed to combine up to five frames in theencoder in order to simplify the extraction of the 24 fps base layer atshutter angles of 72, 144, 216, 288, and 360 degrees, as shown below.This is desirable for movie content that is best presented at 24 fps onlegacy televisions.

TABLE 7 Example of frame combination with a baseline of 24 fps InputFrames 120 fps @360 s1 s2 s3 s4 s5 s6 s7 s8 s9 Enc. e1 = e2 = e3 = e4 =e5 = e6 = e7 = e8 = e9 = frames s1 Cs(1, 2) Cs(1, 3) Cs(1, 4) Cs(1, 5)s6 Cs(6, 7) Cs(6, 8) Cs(6, 9) Decode 120 fps @360 e1 e2 − e1 e3 − e2 e4− e3 e5 − e4 e6 e7 − e6 e8 − e7 e9 − e8 Decode 60 fps @360 e2 e4 − e2 e5− e4 + e6 e8 − e6 e10 − e8  @180 e1 e3 − e2 e5 − e4 e7 − e6 e9 − e8Decode 40 fps @360 e3 e5 − e3 + e6 e9 − e6 @240 e2 e5 − e3 e8 − e6 @120e1 e4 − e3 e7 − e6 Decode 30 fps @360 e4 e5 − e4 + e8 e10 − e8 + e12@270 e3 e5 − e4 + e7 e10 − e8 + e11 @180 e2 e5 − e4 + e6 e10 − e8  @90e1 e5 − e4 e9 − e8 Decode 24 fps @360 e5 e10 @288 e4 e9 @216 e3 e8 @144e2 e7 @72 e1 e6

As depicted in Table 7, if the decoding frame rate matches the baselineframe rate (24 fps), then, in each group of five frames (e.g., e1 to e5)a decoder can simply select the one frame at the desired shutter angle(e.g., e2 for a shutter angle at 144 degrees). To decode at a differentframe rate and a specific shutter angle, the decoder will need todetermine how to properly combine (say, by addition or subtraction) thedecoded frames. For example, to decode at 30 fps and a shutter angle of180 degrees, the following steps may be followed:

-   -   a) The decoder may consider a hypothetical encoder transmitting        at 120 fps and 360 degrees without any consideration for        backward compatibility, then, from Table 1, the decoder needs to        combine 2 out of 4 frames to generate the output sequence at the        desired frame rate and shutter angle. For example, as depicted        in Table 4, the sequence includes, Ce(1,2)=Avg(s1, s2),        Ce(5,6)=Avg(s5, s6), and the like, where Avg(s1,s2) may denote        averaging of frames s1 and s2.    -   b) Given that by definition the encoded frames can be expressed        as e1=s1, e2=Avg(s1, s2), e3=Avg(s1, s3), and the like, one can        easily derive that the sequence of frames in step a) can also be        expressed as:        -   Ce(1,2)=Avg(s1,s2)=e2        -   Ce(5,6)=Avg (s5,s6)=Avg(s1,s5)−Avg(s1,s4)+s6=e5−e4+e6        -   etc.            As before, the proper combination of decoded frames can be            precomputed and be available as a LUT.

An advantage of the proposed method is that it provides options for bothcontent creators and users; i.e., in enables directorial/editorialchoice and user choice. For example, preprocessing content in theencoder allows for a base frame rate to be created with various shutterangles. Each shutter angle can be assigned a temporal_id value in therange [0, (n_frames−1)], where n_frames has a value equal to 120 dividedby the base frame rate. (For example, for a base frame rate of 24 fps,temporal_id is in the range [0,4].) The choice may be made to optimizecompression efficiency, or for aesthetic reasons. In some use cases,say, for over the top streaming, multiple bitstreams with different baselayers can be encoded and stored and offered to users to select.

In a second example of the disclosed methods, multiple backwardcompatible frame rates may be supported. Ideally, one may want to beable to decode at 24 frames per second to get a 24 fps base layer, at 30frames per second to get a 30 fps sequence, at 60 frames per second toget a 60 fps sequence, and the like. If a target shutter angle is notspecified, a default target shutter angle, among those shutter anglespermissible for the source and target frame rates, as close as possibleto 180 degrees is recommended. For example, for the values depicted inTable 7, preferred target shutter angles for fps at 120, 60, 40, 30, and24 are 360, 180, 120, 180, and 216 degrees.

From the above examples it can be observed that the choice of how toencode the content can influence the complexity of decoding specificbase layer frame rates. One embodiment of this invention is toadaptively choose the encoding scheme based on the desired base layerframe rate. For movie content this may be 24 fps, for example, while forsports it may be 60 fps.

Example syntax for the BC embodiment of the current invention is shownbelow and in Tables 8 and 9.

In SPS (Table 8), two syntax elements are added:sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag, and sps_base_framerate (ifsps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag is set equal to 1).sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag equal to 1 specifies that high frame rate withbackward compatibility is enabled in the coded video sequence (CVS).sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag equal to 0 specifies that high frame rate withbackward compatibility is not enabled in the CVS.sps_base_framerate specifies the base framerate for current CVS.In tile group header, if sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag is set to 1, the syntaxnumber_avg_frames is sent in the bitstream.number_avg_frames specifies the number of frames at the highestframerate (e.g., 120 fps) that are combined to generate the currentpicture at base framerate.

TABLE 8 Example RBSP syntax for input at various shutter anglesDescriptor seq_parameter_set_rbsp( ) {  sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 u(3) sps_reserved_zero_5bits u(5)  profile_tier_level(sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 )  sps_seq_parameter_set_id ue(v) ... sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag u (1)  if( sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag ) { u (1)  sps_base_frame_rate u (9)  } ...  sps_extension_flag u(1)  if(sps_extension_flag )   while( more_rbsp_data( ) )   sps_extension_data_flag u(1)  rbsp_trailing_bits( ) }

TABLE 9 Example picture parameter set RBSB syntax for input at variousshutter angles Descriptor pic_parameter_set_rbsp( ) { pps_pic_parameter_set_id ue(v)  pps_seq_parameter_set_id ue(v) ...  if(sps_hfr_BC_enabled_flag )   number_avg_frames se(v) ... rbsp_trailing_bits( ) }

Variations on the Second Embodiment (Fixed Frame Rate)

The HEVC (H.265) coding standard (Ref. [1]) and the under developmentVersatile Video Coding Standard (commonly referred to as VVC, see Ref.[2]), define a syntax element, pic_struct, that indicates whether apicture should be displayed as a frame or as one or more fields, andwhether a decoded picture should be repeated. A copy of Table D.2,“Interpretation of pic_struct,” from HEVC is provided for ease ofreference in the Appendix.

It is important to note that, as appreciated by the inventors, theexisting pic_struct syntax element can support only a specific subset ofcontent frame rates when using a fixed frame rate coding container. Forexample, when using a fixed frame rate container of 60 fps, the existingpic_struct syntax, when fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1,can support 30 fps by using frame doubling, and 24 fps by using framedoubling and frame tripling in alternating combination on every otherframe. However, when using a fixed frame rate container of 120 fps, thecurrent pic_struct syntax cannot support frame rates of 24 fps nor 30fps. To alleviate this problem, two new methods are proposed: one is anextension of the HEVC version, and the other is not.

Method 1: pic_struct without Backward Compatibility

VVC is still under development, thus one can design syntax with maximalfreedom. In an embodiment, in pic_struct, it is proposed to remove theoptions for frame doubling and frame tripling, use a specific value ofpic_struct to indicate arbitrary frame repetition, and add a new syntaxelement, num_frame_repetition_minus2, that specifies the number offrames to repeat. An example of the proposed syntax is described in thefollowing Tables, where Table 10 denotes changes over Table D.2.3 inHEVC and Table 11 denotes changes of Table D.2 shown in the Appendix.

TABLE 10 Example picture timing SEI message syntax, method 1 Descriptorpic_timing( payloadSize ) {  if( frame_field_info_present_flag ) {  pic_struct u(4)   if( pic_struct == 7) u(4)   num_frame_repetition_minus2 u(4)   source_scan_type u(2)  duplicate_flag u(1)  } .... (as the original)num_frame_repetition_minus2 plus 2 indicates that whenfixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, the frame should bedisplayed num_frame_repetition_minus2 plus 2 times consecutively ondisplays with a frame refresh interval equal toDpbOutputElementalInterval[n] as given by Equation E-73.

TABLE 11 Example of revised of pic_struct according to method 1 ValueIndicated display of picture Restrictions 0 (progressive) Framefield_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 1 Top field field_seq_flag shall beequal to 1 2 Bottom field field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 3 Topfield, bottom field, in that field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 order 4Bottom field, top field, in that field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0order 5 Top field, bottom field, top field field_seq_flag shall be equalto 0 repeated, in that order 6 Bottom field, top field, bottomfield_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 field repeated, in that order 7 Framerepetition field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag shall be equal to 1 8 Top field pairedwith previous field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 bottom field in outputorder 9 Bottom field paired with field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1previous top field in output order 10 Top field paired with nextfield_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 bottom field in output order 11Bottom field paired with next field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 topfield in output orderMethod 2: Extended Version of HEVC Version of pic_struct

AVC and HEVC decoders are already deployed, thus it may be desired tosimply extend the existing pic_struct syntax without removing oldoptions. In an embodiment, a new pic_struct=13, “frame repetitionextension” value, and a new syntax element, num_frame_repetition_minus4,are added. An example of the proposed syntax is described in Tables 12and 13. For pic_struct values 0-12, the proposed syntax is identicalwith the one in Table D.2 (as shown in the Appendix), thus those valuesare omitted for simplicity.

TABLE 12 Example picture timing SEI message syntax, method 2 Descriptorpic_timing( payloadSize ) {  if( frame_field_info_present_flag ) {  pic_struct u(4)   if( pic_struct == 13) u(4)   num_frame_repetition_minus4 u(4)   source_scan_type u(2)  duplicate_flag u(1)  } ... (as the original)num_frame_repetition_minus4 plus 4 indicates that whenfixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, the frame should bedisplayed num_frame_repetition_minus4 plus 4 times consecutively ondisplays with a frame refresh interval equal toDpbOutputElementalInterval[n] as given by Equation E-73.

TABLE 13 Example of revised pic_struct, method 2 Value Indicated displayof picture Restrictions 0-12 As in Table D.2 As in Table D.2 13 Framerepetition extension field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag shall be equal to 1

In HEVC, parameter frame_field_info_present_flag is present in the videousability information (VUI), but the syntax elements pic_struct,source_scan_type, and duplicate_flag are in the pic_timing( ) SEImessage. In an embodiment, it is proposed to move all related syntaxelements to VUI, together with the frame_field_info_present_flag. Anexample of the proposed syntax is depicted in Table 14.

TABLE 14 Example VUI parameter syntax with support for the revisedpic_struct syntax element Descriptor vui_parameters( ) {  ... u(1) field_seq_flag u(1)  frame_field_info_present_flag u(1)  if(frame_field_info_present_flag ) {   pic_struct u(4)   source_scan_typeu(2)   duplicate_flag u(1)  }  ... }

Alternative Signaling of Shutter Angle Information

When dealing with variable frame rate, it is desirable to identify boththe desired frame rate and the desired shutter angle. In prior videocoding standards, “Video Usability Information” (VUI) provides essentialinformation for the proper display of video content, such as the aspectratio, colour primaries, chroma sub-sampling, etc. VUI may also provideframe rate information if fixed pic rate is set to 1; however, there isno support for shutter angle information. Embodiments allow fordifferent shutter angles to be used for different temporal layers, and adecoder can use shutter angle information to improve the final look onthe display.

For example, HEVC supports temporal sub layers that essentially useframe dropping techniques to go from a higher frame rate to lower framerate. The major problem with this is that the effective shutter angle isreduced with each frame drop. As an example, 60 fps can be derived froma 120 fps video by dropping every other frame; 30 fps can be derived bydropping 3 out of 4 frames; and 24 fps can be derived by dropping 4 outof 5 frames. Assuming a full 360 degrees shutter for 120 Hz, with simpleframe dropping, the shutter angles for 60 fps, 30 fps, and 24 fps are180, 90, and 72 degrees, respectively [3]. Experience has shown thatshutter angles below 180 degrees are generally unacceptable, especiallywith frame rates below 50 Hz. By providing shutter angle information,for example, if it is desired that a display produces a cinematic effectfrom a 120 Hz video with reduced shutter angle for each temporal layer,smart techniques may be applied to improve the final look.

In another example, one may want to support a different temporal layer(say, a 60 fps sub-bitstream inside a 120 fps bitstream) with the sameshutter angle. Then, the major problem is that when 120 fps video isdisplayed at 120 Hz, the even/odd frames have different effectiveshutter angle. If a display has the related information, smarttechniques can be applied to improve the final look. An example of theproposed syntax is shown in Table 15, where the E.2.1 VUI parameterssyntax Table in HEVC (Ref. [1]) is modified to support shutter angleinformation as noted. Note that in another embodiment, instead ofexpressing shutter_angle syntax in absolute degrees, it canalternatively be expressed as ratio of frame rate over shutter speed(see equation (1)).

TABLE 15 Example VUI parameter syntax with shutter angle supportDescriptor vui_parameters( ) { ...  vui_timing_info_present_flag u(1) if( vui_timing_info_present_flag ) {   vui_num_units_in_tick u(32)  vui_time_scale u(32)   vui_poc_proportional_to_timing_flag u(1)   if(vui_poc_proportional_to_timing_flag )   vui_num_ticks_poc_diff_one_minus1 ue(v)  vui_hrd_parameters_present_flag u(1)   if(vui_hrd_parameters_present_flag )    hrd_parameters( 1,sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 )  }  vui_shutter_angle_info_present_flag u(1) if( vui_shutter_angles_info_present_flag ) {  fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag u(1)   if(fixed_shutter_angle_with_cvs_flag )    fixed_shutter_angle u(9)   else{    for( i = 0; i <= sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {    sub_layer_shutter_angle[ i ] u(9)   }  } ... }vui_shutter_angle_info_present_flag equal to 1 specifies that shutterangle information is present in the vui_parameters( ) syntax structure.vui_shutter_angle_info_present_flag equal to 0 specifies that shutterangle information is not present in the vui_parameters( ) syntaxstructure.fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies that shutterangle information is the same for all temporal sub-layers in the CVS.fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag equal to 0 specifies that shutterangle information may not be the same for all temporal sub-layers in theCVS.fixed_shutter_angle specifies the shutter angle in degrees within a CVS.The value of fixed_shutter_angle shall be in the range of 0 to 360.sub_layer_shutter_angle[i] specifies the shutter angle in degrees whenHighestTid is equal to i. The value of sub_layer_shutter_angle[i] shallbe in the range of 0 to 360.Gradual Frame-Rate Update within a Coded Video Sequence (CVS)

Experiments have shown that for HDR content displayed on an HDR display,to perceive the same motion juddering as standard dynamic range (SDR)playback in a 100 nits display, the frame rate needs to be increasedbased on the brightness of the content. In most standards (AVC, HEVC,VVC, etc.), the video frame rate can be indicated in the VUI (containedin SPS) using the vui_time_scale, vui_num_units_in_tick andelemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[temporal_id_max] syntax elements, forexample, as shown in Table 16 below (see Section E.2.1 in Ref. [1]).

TABLE 16 VUI syntax elements to indicate frame rate in HEVC Descriptorvui_parameters( ) { ...  vui_timing_info_present_flag u(1)  if(vui_timing_info_present_flag ) {   vui_num_units_in_tick u(32)  vui_time_scale u(32)   vui_poc_proportional_to_timing_flag u(1)   if(vui_poc_proportional_to_timing_flag )   vui_num_ticks_poc_diff_one_minus1 ue(v)  vui_hrd_parameters_present_flag u(1)   if(vui_hrd_parameters_present_flag )    hrd_parameters( 1,sps_max_sub_layers_minus1 )  } ....As discussed in Ref. [1],The variable ClockTick is derived as follows and is called a clock tick:

ClockTick=vui_num_units_in_tick÷vui_time_scale

picture_duration=ClockTick*(elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[i]+1)

frame_rate=1/pic_duration.

However, the frame rate can only be changed at specific time instants,for example, in HEVC, only at intra random access point (IRAP) frames orat the start of a new CVS. For HDR playback, when there is a fade-in orfade-out case, because the brightness of a picture is changing frame byframe, there might be a need to change frame rate or picture durationfor every picture. To allow frame rate or picture duration refresh atany time instant (even on a frame-by-frame basis), in an embodiment, anew SEI message for “gradual refresh rate” is proposed, as shown inTable 17.

TABLE 17 Example syntax to support gradual refresh frame rate in SEImessaging Descriptor gradual_refresh_rate( payloadSize ) { num_units_in_tick u(32)  time_scale u(32) }

The definition of new syntax num_units_in_tick is the same asvui_num_units_in_tick, and the definition of time_scale is the same asthat of vui_time_scale.

num_units_in_tick is the number of time units of a clock operating atthe frequency time_scale Hz that corresponds to one increment (called aclock tick) of a clock tick counter. num_units_in_tick shall be greaterthan 0. A clock tick, in units of seconds, is equal to the quotient ofnum_units_in_tick divided by time_scale. For example, when the picturerate of a video signal is 25 Hz, time_scale may be equal to 27 000 000and num_units_in_tick may be equal to 1 080 000 and consequently a clocktick may be equal to 0.04 seconds.time_scale is the number of time units that pass in one second. Forexample, a time coordinate system that measures time using a 27 MHzclock has a time_scale of 27 000 000. The value of time_scale shall begreater than 0.The picture duration time for the picture which usesgradual_refresh_rate SEI message is defined as:

picture_duration=num_units_in_tick÷time_scale.

Signalling of Shutter Angle Information Via SEI Messaging

As discussed earlier, Table 15 provides an example of VUI parametersyntax with shutter angle support. As an example, and withoutlimitation, Table 18 lists identical syntax elements, but now as part ofan SEI message for shutter angle information. Note that SEI messaging isbeing used only as an example and similar messaging may be constructedat other layers of high-level syntax, such as the Sequence Parameter Set(SPS), the Picture Parameter Set (PPS), the Slice or Tile Group header,and the like.

TABLE 18 Example SEI message syntax for shutter angle informationDescriptor shutter_angle_information ( payloadSize ) { fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag u(1)  if(fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag)   fixed_shutter_angle u(9)  else {  for( i = 0; i <= sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++)   sub_layer_shutter_angle[ i ] u(9)  } }

Shutter angle is typically expressed in degrees from 0 to 360 degrees.For example, a shutter angle of 180 degrees indicates that the exposureduration is ½ the frame duration. Shutter angle may be expressed as:shutter_angle=frame_rate*360*shutter_speed, where shutter_speed is theexposure duration and frame_rate is the inverse of frame duration.frame_rate for the given temporal sub-layer Tid may be indicated by thenum_units_in_tick, time_scale, elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]. Forexample, when fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag[Tid] is equal to 1:

frame_rate=time_scale/(num_units_in_tick*(elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]+1)).

In some embodiments, the value of shutter angle (e.g.,fixed_shutter_angle) may not be an integer, for example, it may be135.75 degrees. To allow more precision, in Table 21, one may replaceu(9) (unsigned 9-bits) with u(16) or some other suitable bit-depth(e.g., 12 bits, 14 bits, or more than 16 bits).

In some embodiments, it may be beneficial to express shutter angleinformation in terms of “Clock ticks.” In VVC, the variable ClockTick isderived as follows:

ClockTick=num_units_in_tick÷time_scale.  (8)

Then, one can express both frame duration and exposure duration asmultiple or fractional of clock ticks:

exposure_duration=fN*ClockTick,  (9)

frame_duration=fM*ClockTick,  (10)

where fN and fM are floating-point values and fN≤fM.

Then

$\begin{matrix} & (11)\end{matrix}$ $\begin{matrix}{{shutter\_ angle} = {{{frame\_ rate}*360*{shutter\_ speed}} =}} \\{= {{\left( {1/{frame\_ duration}} \right)*360*{exposure\_ duration}} =}} \\{= {{\left( {{exposure\_ duration}*360} \right)/{frame\_ duration}} =}} \\{= {{\left( {{fN}*{ClockTick}*360} \right)/\left( {{fM}*{ClockTick}} \right)} =}} \\{{= {{\left( {{fN}/{fM}} \right)*360} = {\left( {{Numerator}/{Denominator}} \right)*360}}},}\end{matrix}$

where Numerator and Denominator are integers approximating the fN/fMratio.

Table 19 shows an example of SEI messaging indicated by equation (11).In this example, shutter angle must be larger than 0 for a real-worldcamera.

TABLE 19 Example SEI messaging for shutter angle information based onclock ticks Descriptor shutter_angle_information ( payloadSize ) { fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag u(1)  if(fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag) {  fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1 u(16)  fixed_shutter_angle_denom_minus1 u(16)  }  else {   for( i = 0; i <=sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {   sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[ i ] u(16)   sub_layer_shutter_angle_denom_minus1[ i ] u(16)  } }As discussed earlier, the use of u(16) (unsigned 16 bits) for shutterangle precision is depicted as an example and corresponds to a precisionof: 360/2¹⁶=0.0055. The precision can be adjusted based on realapplications. For example, using u(8), the precision is 360/2⁸=1.4063.

-   -   NOTE—Shutter angle is expressed in degrees greater than 0 but        less than or equal to 360 degrees. For example, a shutter angle        of 180 degrees indicates that the exposure duration is ½ the        frame duration.        fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies that        shutter angle value is the same for all temporal sub-layers in        the CVS. fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_fag equal to 0 specifies        that shutter angle value may not be the same for all temporal        sub-layers in the CVS.        fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1 plus 1 specifies the numerator        used to derive shutter angle value. The value of        fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1 shall be in the range of 0 to        65535, inclusive.        fixed_shutter_angle_demom_minus1 plus 1 specifies the        denominator used to derive shutter angle value. The value of        fixed_shutter_angle_demom_minus1 shall be in the range of 0 to        65535, inclusive.        The value of fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1 shall be less than        or equal to the value of fixed_shutter_angle_demom_minus1.        The variable shutterAngle in degree is derived as follows:

shutterAngle=360*(fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1+1)÷(fixed_shutter_angle_demom_minus1+1))

sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies the numeratorused to derive shutter angle value when HighestTid is equal to i. Thevalue of sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[i] shall be in the rangeof 0 to 65535, inclusive.sub_layer_shutter_angle_demom_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies the denominatorused to derive shutter angle value when HighestTid is equal to i. Thevalue of sub_layer_shutter_angle_demom_minus1[i] shall be in the rangeof 0 to 65535, inclusive.The value of sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[i] shall be less thanor equal to the value of sub_layer_shutter_angle_denom_minus1[i].The variable subLayerShutterAngle[i] in degree is derived as follows:

subLayerShutterAngle[i]=360*(sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[i]+1)÷(sub_layer_shutter_angle_demom_minus1[i]+1)

In another embodiment, frame duration (e.g., frame_duration) may bespecified by some other means. For example, in DVB/ATSC, whenfixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag[Tid] is equal to 1:

frame_rate=time_scale/(num_units_in_tick*(elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]+1)),

frame_duration=1/frame_rate.

The syntax in Table 19 and in some of the subsequent Tables assumes thatthe shutter angle will always be greater than zero; however, shutterangle=0 can be used to signal a creative intent where the content shouldbe displayed without any motion blur. Such could be the case for movinggraphics, animation, CGI textures and mat screens, etc. As such, forexample, signalling shutter angle=0 could be useful for mode decision ina transcoder (e.g., to select transcoding modes that preserve edges) aswell as in a display that receives the shutter angle metadata over a CTAinterface or 3GPP interface. For example, shutter angle=0 could be usedto indicate to a display that is should not perform any motionprocessing such as denoising, frame interpolation, and the like. In suchan embodiment, syntax elements fixed_shutter_angle_numer_minus1 andsub_layer_shutter_angle_numer_minus1[i] may be replaced by the syntaxelements fixed_shutter_angle_numer and sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer[i],where

fixed_shutter_angle_numer specifies the numerator used to derive shutterangle value. The value of fixed_shutter_angle_numer shall be in therange of 0 to 65535, inclusive.sub_layer_shutter_angle_numer[i] specifies the numerator used to deriveshutter angle value when HighestTid is equal to i. The value ofsub_layer_shutter_angle_numer[i] shall be in the range of 0 to 65535,inclusive.

In another embodiment, fixed_shutter_angle_denom_minus1 andsub_layer_shutter_angle_denom_minus1[i] can also be replaced by thesyntax elements fixed_shutter_angle_denom andsub_layer_shutter_angle_denom[i] as well.

In an embodiment, as depicted in Table 20, one can reuse thenum_units_in_tick and time_scale syntax defined in SPS by settinggeneral_hrd_parameters_present_flag equal to 1 in VVC. Under thisscenario, the SEI message can be renamed as Exposure Duration SEImessage.

TABLE 20 Example SEI messaging for signaling exposure durationDescriptor exposure_duration_information ( payloadSize ) { fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag u(1)  if(fixed_shutter_angle_within_cvs_flag) {  fixed_exposure_duration_numer_minus1 u(16)  fixed_exposure_duration_denom_minus1 u(16)  }  else {   for( i = 0; i<= sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {   sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[ i ] u(16)   sub_layer_exposure_duration_denom_minus1[ i ] u(16)  } }fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies thateffective exposure duration value is the same for all temporalsub-layers in the CVS. fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag equal to0 specifies that effective exposure duration value may not be the samefor all temporal sub-layers in the CVS.fixed_exposure_duration_numer_minus1 plus 1 specifies the numerator usedto derive exposure duration value. The value offixed_exposure_duration_numer_minus1 shall be in the range of 0 to65535, inclusive.fixed_exposure_duration_demom_minus1 plus 1 specifies the denominatorused to derive exposure duration value. The value offixed_exposure_duration_demom_minus1 shall be in the range of 0 to65535, inclusive.The value of fixed_exposure_during_numer_minus1 shall be less than orequal to the value of fixed_exposure_duration_demom_minus1.The variable fixedExposureDuration is derived as follows:

fixedExposureDuration=(fixed_exposure_duration_numer_minus1+1)÷(fixed_exposure_duration_demom_minus1+1)*ClockTicks

sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies thenumerator used to derive exposure duration value when HighestTid isequal to i. The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i]shall be in the range of 0 to 65535, inclusive.sub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies thedenominator used to derive exposure duration value when HighestTid isequal to i. The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i]shall be in the range of 0 to 65535, inclusive.The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i] shall be lessthan or equal to the value ofsub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i].The variable subLayerExposureDuration[i] for HigestTid equal to i isderived as follows:

subLayerExposureDuration[i]=(sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i]+1)÷(sub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i]+1)*ClockTicks.

In another embodiment, as shown in Table 21, one may explicitly defineclockTick by the syntax elements expo_num_units_in_tick andexpo_time_scale. The advantage here is that it does not rely on whethergeneral_hrd_parameters_present_flag set equal to 1 in VVC as theprevious embodiment, then

clockTick=expo_num_units_in_tick÷expo_time_scale.  (12)

TABLE 21 Example SEI messaging for exposure time signaling Descriptorexposure_duration_information ( payloadSize ) {  expo_num_units_in_ticku(32)  expo_time_scale u(32)  fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flagu(1)  if (!fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag)   for( i = 0; i <=sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {   sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[ i ] u(16)   sub_layer_exposure_duration_denom_minus1[ i ] u(16)   } }expo_num_units_in_tick is the number of time units of a clock operatingat the frequency time_scale Hz that corresponds to one increment (calleda clock tick) of a clock tick counter. expo_num_units_in_tick shall begreater than 0. A clock tick, defined by variable clockTick, in units ofseconds, is equal to the quotient of expo_num_units_in_tick divided byexpo_time_scale.expo_time_scale is the number of time units that pass in one second.

clockTick=expo_num_units_in_tick÷expo_time_scale.

NOTE: The two syntax elements: expo_num_units_in_tick andexpo_time_scale are defined to measure exposure duration.It is a requirement for bitstream conformance that clockTick shall beless than or equal to ClockTick when num_units_in_tick and time_scaleare present.fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies thateffective exposure duration value is the same for all temporalsub-layers in the CVS. fixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag equal to0 specifies that effective exposure duration value may not be the samefor all temporal sub-layers in the CVS. Whenfixed_exposure_duration_within_cvs_flag equal to 1, the variablefixedExposureDuration is set equal to clockTick.sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies thenumerator used to derive exposure duration value when HighestTid isequal to i. The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i]shall be in the range of 0 to 65535, inclusive.sub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i] plus 1 specifies thedenominator used to derive exposure duration value when HighestTid isequal to i. The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i]shall be in the range of 0 to 65535, inclusive.The value of sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i] shall be lessthan or equal to the value ofsub_layer_exposure_duration_demom_minus1[i].The variable subLayerExposureDuration[i] for HigestTid equal to i isderived as follows:

subLayerExposureDuration[i]=(sub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i]+1)÷(sub_layer_exposure_duration_denom_minus1[i]+1)*clockTick.

As discussed earlier, syntax parameterssub_layer_exposure_duration_numer_minus1[i] andsub_layer_exposure_duration_denom_minus1[i] may also be replaced bysub_layer_exposure_duration_numer[i] andsub_layer_exposure_duration_denom[i].

In another embodiment, as shown in Table 22, one may define theparameter ShutterInterval (i.e., exposure duration) by the syntaxelements sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval and sii_time_scale, where

ShutterInterval=sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval÷sii_time_scale.  (13)

TABLE 22 Example SEI messaging for exposure duration (shutter intervalinformation) signaling Descriptor shutter_interval_information (payloadSize ) {  sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval u(32)  sii_time_scaleu(32)  fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag u(1)  if (!fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag )   for( i = 0; i <=sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {    sub_layer_shutter_interval_numer[i ] u(16)    sub_layer_shutter_interval_denom[ i ] u(16)   }

Shutter Interval Information SEI Message Semantics

The shutter interval information SEI message indicates the shutterinterval for the associated video content prior to encoding anddisplay—e.g., for camera-captured content, the amount of time that animage sensor was exposed to produce a picture.sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval specifies the number of time units ofa clock operating at the frequency sii_time_scale Hz that corresponds toone increment of an shutter clock tick counter. Shutter interval,defined by variable ShutterInterval, in units of seconds, is equal tothe quotient of sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval divided bysii_time_scale. For example, when ShutterInterval is equal to 0.04seconds, sii_time_scale may be equal to 27 000 000 andsii_num_units_in_shutter_interval may be equal to 1 080 000.sii_time_scale specifies the number of time units that pass in onesecond. For example, a time coordinate system that measures time using a27 MHz clock has a sii_time_scale of 27 000 000. When the value ofsii_time_scale is greater than 0, the value of ShutterInterval isspecified by:

ShutterInterval=sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval÷sii_time_scale

Otherwise (the value of sii_time_scale is equal to 0), ShutterIntervalshould be interpreted as unknown or unspecified.

-   -   NOTE 1—A value of ShutterInterval equal to 0 may indicate that        the associated video content contains screen capture content,        computer generated content, or other non-camera-capture content.    -   NOTE 2—A value of ShutterInterval greater than the value of the        inverse of the coded picture rate, the coded picture interval,        may indicate that the coded picture rate is greater than the        picture rate at which the associated video content was        created—e.g., when the coded picture rate is 120 Hz and the        picture rate of the associated video content prior to encoding        and display is 60 Hz. The coded interval for the given temporal        sub-layer Tid may be indicated by ClockTick and        elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]. For example, when        fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag[Tid] is equal to 1, picture        interval for the given temporal sub-layer Tid, defined by        variable PictureInterval[Tid], may be specified by:

PictureInterval[Tid]=ClockTick*(elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]+1).

fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies that thevalue of ShutterInterval is the same for all temporal sub-layers in theCVS. fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 0 specifies thatvalue of ShutterInterval may not be the same for all temporal sub-layersin the CVS.sub_layer_shutter_interval_numer[i] specifies the numerator used toderive sub layer shutter interval, defined by variablesubLayerShutterInterval[i], in units of seconds, when HighestTid isequal to i.sub_layer_shutter_interval_denom[i] specifies the denominator used toderive sub layer shutter interval, defined by variablesubLayerShutterInterval[i], in units of seconds, when HighestTid isequal to i.The value of subLayerShutterInterval[i] for HighestTid equal to i isderived as follows. When the value offixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 0 and the value ofsub_layer_shutter_interval_denom[i] is greater than 0:

subLayerShutterInterval[i]=ShutterInterval*sub_layer_shutter_interval_numer[i]÷sub_layer_shutter_interval_denom[i]

Otherwise (the value of sub_layer_shutter_interval_denom[i] is equal to0), subLayerShutterInterval[i] should be interpreted as unknown orunspecified. When the value of fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag isnot equal to 0,

subLayerShutterInterval[i]=ShutterInterval.

In an alternative embodiment, instead of using a numerator and adenominator for signaling the sub-layer shutter interval, one uses asingle value. An example of such syntax is shown in Table 23.

TABLE 23 Example SEI messaging for shutter interval signaling Descriptorshutter_interval_information ( payloadSize ) { sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval u(32)  sii_time_scale u(32) fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag u(1)  if (!fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag )   for( i = 0; i <=sps_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ ) {   sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[ i ] u(32)   } }

Shutter Interval Information SEI Message Semantics

The shutter interval information SEI message indicates the shutterinterval for the associated video content prior to encoding anddisplay—e.g., for camera-captured content, the amount of time that animage sensor was exposed to produce a picture.sii_num_units_in_shutter specifies the number of time units of a clockoperating at the frequency sii_time_scale Hz that corresponds to oneincrement of an shutter clock tick counter. Shutter interval, defined byvariable ShutterInterval, in units of seconds, is equal to the quotientof sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval divided by sii_time_scale. Forexample, when ShutterInterval is equal to 0.04 seconds, sii_time_scalemay be equal to 27 000 000 and sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval may beequal to 1 080 000.sii_time_scale specifies the number of time units that pass in onesecond. For example, a time coordinate system that measures time using a27 MHz clock has a sii_time_scale of 27 000 000. When the value ofsii_time_scale is greater than 0, the value of ShutterInterval isspecified by:

ShutterInterval=sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval÷sii_time_scale

Otherwise (the value of sii_time_scale is equal to 0), ShutterIntervalshould be interpreted as unknown or unspecified.

-   -   NOTE 1—A value of ShutterInterval equal to 0 may indicate that        the associated video content contain screen capture content,        computer generated content, or other non-camera-capture content.    -   NOTE 2—A value of ShutterInterval greater than the value of the        inverse of the coded picture rate, the coded picture interval,        may indicate that the coded picture rate is greater than the        picture rate at which the associated video content was        created—e.g., when the coded picture rate is 120 Hz and the        picture rate of the associated video content prior to encoding        and display is 60 Hz. The coded picture interval for the given        temporal sub-layer Tid may be indicated by ClockTick and        elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]. For example, when        fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag[Tid] is equal to 1, picture        interval for the given temporal sub-layer Tid, defined by        variable PictureInterval[Tid], may be specified by:

PictureInterval[Tid]=ClockTick*(elemental_duration_in_tc_minus1[Tid]+1).

fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies that thevalue of ShutterInterval is the same for all temporal sub-layers in theCVS. fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 0 specifies thatvalue of ShutterInterval may not be the same for all temporal sub-layersin the CVS.sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i] specifies the number of timeunits of a clock operating at the frequency sii_time_scale Hz thatcorresponds to one increment of an shutter clock tick counter. Sub layershutter interval, defined by variable subLayerShutterInterval[i], inunits of seconds, when HighestTid is equal to i, is equal to thequotient of sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i] divided bysii_time_scale.When the value of fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 0and the value of sii_time_scale is greater than 0, the value ofsubLayerShutterInterval[i] is specified by:

subLayerShutterInterval[i]=sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i]÷sii_time_scale

Otherwise (the value of sii_time_scale is equal to 0),subLayerShutterInterval[i] should be interpreted as unknown orunspecified. When the value of fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag isnot equal to 0,

subLayerShutterInterval[i]=ShutterInterval.

Table 24 provides a summary of the six approaches discussed in Tables18-23 for providing SEI messaging related to shutter angle or exposureduration.

TABLE 24 Summary of SEI messaging approaches for signaling signalshutter angle information Table No. Key signaling elements anddependencies 18 Shutter angle (0 to 360) is signaled explicitly 19Shutter angle is expressed as a ratio of Numerator and Denominatorvalues to be scaled by 360 (the clock-tick value is implied) 20 Exposureduration is signaled as a ratio of Numerator and Denominator values (theclock-tick value is implied) 21 Exposure duration is signaled as a ratioof Numerator and Denominator values; the clock tick-value is signaledexplicitly as a ratio of two values 22 Shutter interval information issignaled as the ratio of two values: the number of clock-tick units inthe exposure and an exposure-time scale; Sub-layer-related exposuretimes are signaled as a ratio of two values 23 Shutter intervalinformation or exposure duration is signaled as the ratio of two values:the number of clock-tick units in the exposure and an exposure-timescale; Sub-layer-related exposure times are signaled as the number ofclock-tick units in the exposure in each sub-layer

Variable Frame Rate Signalling

As discussed in U.S. Provisional Application 62/883,195, filed on Aug.6, 2019, in many applications it is desired for a decoder to supportplayback at variable frame rates. Frame rate adaptation is typicallypart of the operations in the hypothetical reference decoder (HRD), asdescribed, for example, in Annex C of Ref. [2]. In an embodiment, it isproposed to signal via SEI messaging or other means a syntax elementdefining picture presentation time (PPT) as function of a 90 kHz clock.This is kind of repetition of the nominal decoder picture buffer (DPB)output time as specified in the HRD, but now using a 90 kHz ClockTicksprecision as specified in the MPEG-2 system. The benefit of this SEImessage are a) if HRD is not enabled, one can still use the PPT SEImessage to indicate timing for each frame; b) it can ease thetranslation of bitstream timing and system timing.

Table 25 describes an example of the syntax of the proposed PPT timingmessage, which matches the syntax of the presentation time stamp (PTS)variable being used in MPEG-2 transport (H.222) (Ref. [4]).

TABLE 25 Example syntax for picture presentation time messagingDescriptor picture_presentation_time ( payloadSize ) {  PPT u(33) }

PPT (Picture Presentation Time)

-   -   Presentation times shall be related to decoding times as        follows: The PPT is a 33-bit number coded in three separate        fields. It indicates the time of presentation, tp_(n)(k), in the        system target decoder of a presentation unit k of elementary        stream n. The value of PPT is specified in units of the period        of the system clock frequency divided by 300 (yielding 90 kHz).        The picture presentation time is derived from the PPT according        to equation below.

PPT(k)=((system_clock_frequency×tp _(n)(k))/300)% 2³³

where tp_(n)(k) is the presentation time of presentation unit P_(n)(k).

Shutter Interval Messaging in AVC

In an embodiment, if a shutter interval information (SII) SEI messageexists for any picture in a coded video sequence (CVS), then it issuggested that it must exist in the first access unit of the CVS. UnlikeHEVC, a temporal index (which is used to identify a sub-layer index)does not exist in an AVC single-layer bitstream. To address this issuewhen the shutter interval is not fixed within a CVS, it is proposed thata shutter interval information SEI message shall be present for everypicture to assign a value for sii_sub_layer_idx to each picture toidentify the sub-layer index of the current picture. Other shutterinterval related information shall be presented only for the firstaccess unit of the CVS and persist until a new CVS begins or thebitstream ends.

In AVC, an access unit is defined as a set of NAL units that areconsecutive in decoding order and contain exactly one primary codedpicture. In addition to the primary coded picture, an access unit mayalso contain one or more redundant coded pictures, one auxiliary codedpicture, or other NAL units not containing slices or slice datapartitions of a coded picture. The decoding of an access unit alwaysresults in a decoded picture.

Example syntax element values for the case in which shutter interval isfixed for the CVS is shown in Table 26. Example syntax element valuesfor the first and subsequent shutter interval information SEI messagefor the case in which shutter interval may be different for differentsub-layers is shown in Table 27. In Tables 26 and 27, cells with“(none)” indicate that no value is signalled in the shutter intervalinformation SEI message for the corresponding syntax element.

TABLE 26 Example of shutter interval information SEI message syntaxelement values for fixed shutter interval for IDR access unit 1stshutter interval info SEI message syntax element in the CVSsii_sub_layer_idx 0 shutter_interval_info_present_flag 1 sii_time_scaleu(32) fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag 1sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval u(32) sii_max_sub_layers_minus1 (none)sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[ i ] (none)

TABLE 27 Example of shutter interval information SEI message syntaxelement values for non-fixed shutter interval for IDR access unit 1stshutter interval info SEI message Subsequent shutter interval infosyntax element in the CVS SEI messages in the CVS sii_sub_layer_idx 0 0ue(v) > 0 shutter_interval_info_present_flag 1 0 (none) sii_time_scaleu(32) (none) (none) fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag 0 (none)(none) sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval (none) (none) (none)sii_max_sub_layers_minus1 u(3) (none) (none)sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[ i ] u(32) (none) (none)

Table 28 depicts an example syntax structure for SII SEI messaging inAVC.

TABLE 28 Example SII SEI message syntax in AVC C Descriptorshutter_interval_info( payloadSize ) {  sii_sub_layer_idx 5 ue(v)  if(sii_sub_layer_idx == 0 )   shutter_interval_info_present_flag 5 u(1)  if( shutter_interval_info_present_flag )    sii_time_scale 5 u(32)   fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag 5 u(1)    if(fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag )    sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval 5 u(32)    else {    sii_max_sub_layers_minus1 5 u(3)     for( i = 0; i <=sii_max_sub_layers_minus1; i++ )     sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[ i ] 5 u(32)    }   }  } }

The shutter interval information SEI message indicates the shutterinterval for the associated video source pictures prior to encoding anddisplay, e.g., for camera-captured content, the shutter interval isamount of time that an image sensor is exposed to produce each sourcepicture.

sii_sub_layer_idx specifies the shutter interval temporal sub-layerindex of the current picture. The value of sii_sub_layer_idx shall beequal to 0 when the current access unit is the first access unit of theCVS. When fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, thevalue of sii_sub_layer_idx shall be equal to 0. Otherwise,fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 0, the value ofsii_sub_layer_idx shall be less than or equal to the value ofsii_max_sub_layers_minus1.shutter_interval_info_present_flag equal to 1 indicates that the syntaxelements sii_time_scale, fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag, andeither sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval or sii_max_sub_layers_minus1and sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i] are present.shutter_interval_info_present_flag equal to 0 indicates that the syntaxelements sii_time_scale, fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag,sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval, sii_max_sub_layers_minus1, andsub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i] are not present. The value ofshutter_interval_info_present_flag shall be equal to 1 when the currentaccess unit is the first access unit of the CVS. Otherwise, the currentaccess unit is not the first access unit of the CVS, the value ofshutter_interval_info_present_flag shall be equal to 0.sii_time_scale specifies the number of time units that pass in onesecond. The value of sii_time_scale shall be greater than 0. Forexample, a time coordinate system that measures time using a 27 MHzclock has an sii_time_scale of 27 000 000.fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 1 specifies that theindicated shutter interval is the same for all pictures in the CVS.fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag equal to 0 specifies that theindicated shutter interval may not be the same for all pictures in theCVS. sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval, whenfixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, specifies thenumber of time units of a clock operating at the frequencysii_time_scale Hz that corresponds to the indicated shutter interval ofeach picture in the CVS. The value 0 may be used to indicate that theassociated video content contains screen capture content, computergenerated content, or other non-camera-captured content.The indicated shutter interval, denoted by the variable shutterInterval,in units of seconds, is equal to the quotient ofsii_num_units_in_shutter_interval divided by sii_time_scale. Forexample, to represent a shutter interval equal to 0.04 seconds,sii_time_scale may be equal to 27 000 000 andsii_num_units_in_shutter_interval may be equal to 1 080 000.sii_max_sub_layers_minus1 plus 1 specifies the maximum number of shutterinterval temporal sub-layers indexes that may be present in the CVS.sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i], when present, specifies thenumber of time units of a clock operating at the frequencysii_time_scale Hz that corresponds to the shutter interval of eachpicture in the CVS for which the value of sii_sub_layer_idx is equal toi. The sub-layer shutter interval for each picture for which the valueof sii_sub_layer_idx is equal to i, denoted by the variablesubLayerShutterInterval[i], in units of seconds, is equal to thequotient of sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i] divided bysii_time_scale.The variable subLayerShutterInterval[i], corresponding to the indicatedshutter interval of each picture in the sub-layer representation withTemporalId equal to i in the CVS, is thus derived as follows:

if( fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag )  subLayerShutterInterval[ i] = sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval ÷ sii_time_scale else subLayerShutterInterval[ i ] = sub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i ] ÷ sii_time_scaleWhen a shutter interval information SEI message is present for anyaccess unit in a CVS, a shutter interval information SEI message shallbe present for the IDR access unit that is the first access unit of theCVS. All shutter interval information SEI messages that apply to thesame access unit shall have the same content.sii_time_scale and fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag persist fromthe first access unit of the CVS until a new CVS begins or the bitstreamends.When the value of fixed_shutter_interval_within_cvs_flag is equal to 0,a shutter interval information SEI message shall be present for everypicture in the CVS. When present, sii_num_units_in_shutter_interval,sii_max_sub_layers_minus1, andsub_layer_num_units_in_shutter_interval[i], persist from the firstaccess unit of the CVS until a new CVS begins or the bitstream ends.

REFERENCES

Each one of the references listed herein is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

-   [1] High efficiency video coding, H.265, Series H, Coding of moving    video, ITU, (February 2018).-   [2] B. Bross, J. Chen, and S. Liu, “Versatile Video Coding (Draft    5),” JVET output document, JVET-N1001, v5, uploaded May 14, 2019.-   [3] C. Carbonara, J. DeFilippis, M. Korpi, “High Frame Rate Capture    and Production,” SMPTE 2015 Annual Technical Conference and    Exhibition, Oct. 26-29, 2015.-   [4] Infrastructure of audiovisual services—Transmission multiplexing    and synchronization, H.222.0, Series H, Generic coding of moving    pictures and associated audio information: Systems, ITU, August    2018.

Example Computer System Implementation

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with a computersystem, systems configured in electronic circuitry and components, anintegrated circuit (IC) device such as a microcontroller, a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), or another configurable or programmablelogic device (PLD), a discrete time or digital signal processor (DSP),an application specific IC (ASIC), and/or apparatus that includes one ormore of such systems, devices or components. The computer and/or IC mayperform, control, or execute instructions relating to frame-ratescalability, such as those described herein. The computer and/or IC maycompute any of a variety of parameters or values that relate toframe-rate scalability described herein. The image and video embodimentsmay be implemented in hardware, software, firmware and variouscombinations thereof.

Certain implementations of the invention comprise computer processorswhich execute software instructions which cause the processors toperform a method of the invention. For example, one or more processorsin a display, an encoder, a set top box, a transcoder or the like mayimplement methods related to frame-rate scalability as described aboveby executing software instructions in a program memory accessible to theprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be provided in theform of a program product. The program product may comprise anynon-transitory and tangible medium which carries a set ofcomputer-readable signals comprising instructions which, when executedby a data processor, cause the data processor to execute a method of theinvention. Program products according to the invention may be in any ofa wide variety of non-transitory and tangible forms. The program productmay comprise, for example, physical media such as magnetic data storagemedia including floppy diskettes, hard disk drives, optical data storagemedia including CD ROMs, DVDs, electronic data storage media includingROMs, flash RAM, or the like. The computer-readable signals on theprogram product may optionally be compressed or encrypted.

Where a component (e.g. a software module, processor, assembly, device,circuit, etc.) is referred to above, unless otherwise indicated,reference to that component (including a reference to a “means”) shouldbe interpreted as including as equivalents of that component anycomponent which performs the function of the described component (e.g.,that is functionally equivalent), including components which are notstructurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs thefunction in the illustrated example embodiments of the invention.

Equivalents, Extensions, Alternatives and Miscellaneous

Example embodiments that relate to frame-rate scalability are thusdescribed. In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the presentinvention have been described with reference to numerous specificdetails that may vary from implementation to implementation. Thus, thesole and exclusive indicator of what is the invention and what isintended by the applicants to be the invention is the set of claims thatissue from this application, in the specific form in which such claimsissue, including any subsequent correction. Any definitions expresslyset forth herein for terms contained in such claims shall govern themeaning of such terms as used in the claims. Hence, no limitation,element, property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expresslyrecited in a claim should limit the scope of such claim in any way. Thespecification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

APPENDIX

This Appendix provides a copy of Table D.2 and associatedpic_struct-related information from the H.265 specification (Ref. [1]).

TABLE D.2 Interpretation of pic_struct Indicated display Value ofpicture Restrictions 0 (progressive) Frame field_seq_flag shall be equalto 0 1 Top field field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 2 Bottom fieldfield_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 3 Top field, bottom field,field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 in that order 4 Bottom field, topfield, field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 in that order 5 Top field,bottom field, field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0 top field repeated, inthat order 6 Bottom field, top field, field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0bottom field repeated, in that order 7 Frame doubling field_seq_flagshall be equal to 0 fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag shall be equal to 1 8Frame tripling field_seq_flag shall be equal to 0fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag shall be equal to 1 9 Top field pairedwith field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 previous bottom field in outputorder 10 Bottom field paired with field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1previous top field in output order 11 Top field paired withfield_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 next bottom field in output order 12Bottom field paired with field_seq_flag shall be equal to 1 next topfield in output orderSemantics of the pic_struct Syntax Elementpic_struct indicates whether a picture should be displayed as a frame oras one or more fields and, for the display of frames whenfixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, may indicate a framedoubling or tripling repetition period for displays that use a fixedframe refresh interval equal to DpbOutputElementalInterval[n] as givenby Equation E-73. The interpretation of pic_struct is specified in TableD.2. Values of pic_struct that are not listed in Table D.2 are reservedfor future use by ITU-T|ISO/IEC and shall not be present in bitstreamsconforming to this version of this Specification. Decoders shall ignorereserved values of pic_struct.When present, it is a requirement of bitstream conformance that thevalue of pic_struct shall be constrained such that exactly one of thefollowing conditions is true:

-   -   The value of pic_struct is equal to 0, 7 or 8 for all pictures        in the CVS.    -   The value of pic_struct is equal to 1, 2, 9, 10, 11 or 12 for        all pictures in the CVS.    -   The value of pic_struct is equal to 3, 4, 5 or 6 for all        pictures in the CVS.        When fixed_pic_rate_within_cvs_flag is equal to 1, frame        doubling is indicated by pic_struct equal to 7, which indicates        that the frame should be displayed two times consecutively on        displays with a frame refresh interval equal to        DpbOutputElementalInterval[n] as given by Equation E-73, and        frame tripling is indicated by pic_struct equal to 8, which        indicates that the frame should be displayed three times        consecutively on displays with a frame refresh interval equal to        DpbOutputElementalInterval[n] as given by Equation E-73.    -   NOTE 3—Frame doubling can be used to facilitate the display, for        example, of 25 Hz progressive-scan video on a 50 Hz        progressive-scan display or 30 Hz progressive-scan video on a 60        Hz progressive-scan display. Using frame doubling and frame        tripling in alternating combination on every other frame can be        used to facilitate the display of 24 Hz progressive-scan video        on a 60 Hz progressive-scan display.        The nominal vertical and horizontal sampling locations of        samples in top and bottom fields for 4:2:0, 4:2:2 and 4:4:4        chroma formats are shown in Figure D.1, Figure D.2, and Figure        D.3, respectively.        Association indicators for fields (pic_struct equal to 9        through 12) provide hints to associate fields of complementary        parity together as frames. The parity of a field can be top or        bottom, and the parity of two fields is considered complementary        when the parity of one field is top and the parity of the other        field is bottom.        When frame_field_info_present_flag is equal to 1, it is a        requirement of bitstream conformance that the constraints        specified in the third column of Table D.2 shall apply.    -   NOTE 4—When frame_field_info_present_flag is equal to 0, then in        many cases default values may be inferred or indicated by other        means. In the absence of other indications of the intended        display type of a picture, the decoder should infer the value of        pic_struct as equal to 0 when frame_field_info_present_flag is        equal to 0.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for processing an encoded video streamusing a processor, the method comprising: receiving a coded bitstreamcomprising an encoded picture section including an encoding of asequence of video pictures and a supplemental enhancement information(SEI) message including shutter interval parameters, wherein the shutterinterval parameters comprise: a shutter interval temporal sub-layerindex of a current picture in the coded bitstream, wherein if theshutter interval temporal sub-layer index equals to zero, then the SEImessage includes a shutter interval information present flag, wherein ifthe shutter interval information present flag is equal to one, then theSEI message includes: a shutter interval time-scale parameter indicatingthe number of time units passing in one second; afixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicating whether shutter intervalduration information is fixed for all pictures in the encoded picturesection; and if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates thatthe shutter interval duration information is fixed, then the SEI messageincludes a shutter interval clock-ticks parameter indicating a number oftime units of a clock operating at the frequency of the shutter intervaltime-scale parameter, wherein the shutter interval clock-ticks parameterdivided by the shutter interval time-scale parameter indicates anexposure duration value for all the video pictures in the encodedpicture section, else, the shutter interval parameters includes an arrayof one or more sub-layer shutter interval clock-ticks parametersindicating a number of time units of a clock at the frequency of theshutter interval time-scale parameter for one or more sub-layers in theencoded picture section, wherein, for a first sub-layer in the encodedpicture section, a corresponding sub-layer shutter interval clock-ticksparameter divided by the shutter interval time-scale parameter indicatesthe exposure duration value for all the video pictures in the firstsub-layer of the encoded picture section; and decoding the sequence ofvideo pictures based on the shutter interval parameters.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the encoded picture section comprises two or moreaccess units, and the shutter interval temporal sub-layer index is zerofor a first access unit among the two or more access units and non-zerootherwise.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shutter intervaltemporal sub-layer index parameter is 0 when thefixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the shutter intervalduration information is fixed.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein if thefixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the shutter intervalduration information is not fixed, then the SEI message includes a maxsub-layers parameter to compute the maximum number of the one or moresub-layers in the encoded picture section.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag is equal to 1, thenthe shutter interval temporal sub-layer index shall be equal to 0,otherwise, if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag is equal to 0,then the value of the shutter interval temporal sub-layer index is lessthan or equal to the max sub-layers parameter.
 6. A method forgenerating shutter interval metadata for an encoded bitstream, themethod comprising: encoding the video pictures to generate the encodedbitstream; generating a supplemental enhancement information (SEI)message indicating shutter interval information for the encodedbitstream; and generating an output video stream that includes theencoded bitstream and the SEI message, wherein the SEI messagecomprises: a shutter interval temporal sub-layer index of a currentpicture in the coded bitstream, wherein if the shutter interval temporalsub-layer index equals to zero, then the SEI message includes a shutterinterval information present flag, wherein if the shutter intervalinformation present flag is equal to one, then the SEI message includes:a shutter interval time-scale parameter indicating the number of timeunits passing in one second; a fixed-shutter-interval-duration flagindicating whether shutter interval duration information is fixed forall pictures in the encoded bitstream; and if thefixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the shutter intervalduration information is fixed, then the SEI message includes a shutterinterval clock-ticks parameter indicating a number of time units of aclock operating at the frequency of the shutter interval time-scaleparameter, wherein the shutter interval clock-ticks parameter divided bythe shutter interval time-scale parameter indicates an exposure durationvalue for all the video pictures in the encoded bitstream, else, the SEImessage includes an array of one or more sub-layer shutter intervalclock-ticks parameters indicating a number of time units of a clock atthe frequency of the shutter interval time-scale parameter for one ormore sub-layers in the encoded bitstream, wherein, for a first sub-layerin the encoded bitstream, a corresponding sub-layer shutter intervalclock-ticks parameter divided by the shutter interval time-scaleparameter indicates the exposure duration value for all the videopictures in the first sub-layer of the encoded bitstream.
 7. The methodof claim 6, wherein if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flagindicates that the shutter interval duration information is not fixed,then the SEI message includes a max sub-layers parameter to compute themaximum number of the one or more sub-layers in the encoded bitstream.8. The method of claim 7, wherein if the fixed-shutter-interval-durationflag is equal to 1, then the shutter interval temporal sub-layer indexshall be equal to 0, otherwise, if the fixed-shutter-interval-durationflag is equal to 0, then the value of the shutter interval temporalsub-layer index is less than or equal to the max sub-layers parameter.9. An apparatus comprising a video bitstream stored on one or morenon-transitory machine-readable media, the video bitstream characterizedby: data representing one or more encoded video pictures in a compressedformat, wherein a portion of the data that represents the one or moreencoded video pictures in the compressed format comprises: asupplemental enhancement information (SEI) message comprising: a shutterinterval temporal sub-layer index of a current picture in the codedbitstream, wherein if the shutter interval temporal sub-layer indexequals to zero, then the SEI message includes a shutter intervalinformation present flag, wherein if the shutter interval informationpresent flag is equal to one, then the SEI message includes: a shutterinterval time-scale parameter indicating the number of time unitspassing in one second; a fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicatingwhether shutter interval duration information is fixed for all picturesin the encoded picture section; and if thefixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the shutter intervalduration information is fixed, then the SEI message includes a shutterinterval clock-ticks parameter indicating a number of time units of aclock operating at the frequency of the shutter interval time-scaleparameter, wherein the shutter interval clock-ticks parameter divided bythe shutter interval time-scale parameter indicates an exposure durationvalue for all the video pictures in the encoded picture section, else,the shutter interval parameters includes an array of one or moresub-layer shutter interval clock-ticks parameters indicating a number oftime units of a clock at the frequency of the shutter intervaltime-scale parameter for one or more sub-layers in the encoded picturesection, wherein, for a first sub-layer in the encoded picture section,a corresponding sub-layer shutter interval clock-ticks parameter dividedby the shutter interval time-scale parameter indicates the exposureduration value for all the video pictures in the first sub-layer of theencoded picture section.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein if thefixed-shutter-interval-duration flag indicates that the shutter intervalduration information is not fixed, then the SEI message includes a maxsub-layers parameter to compute the maximum number of the one or moresub-layers in the encoded picture section.
 11. The apparatus of claim10, wherein if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag is equal to 1,then the shutter interval temporal sub-layer index shall be equal to 0,otherwise, if the fixed-shutter-interval-duration flag is equal to 0,then the value of the shutter interval temporal sub-layer index is lessthan or equal to the max sub-layers parameter.